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The
Basis for Training

by
Tudor O. Bompa, PhD

Athletic performance has dramatically progressed over the past few years.
Performance levels unimaginable before are now commonplace, and the number of
athletes capable of outstanding results is increasing. Why such dramatic
improvements? There is no simple answer. One factor is that athletics is a
challenging field, and intense motivation has encouraged long, hard hours of
work. Also, coaching has become more sophisticated, partially from the
assistance of sport specialists and scientists. A broader base of knowledge
about athletes now exists, which is reflected in training methodology. Sport
sciences have progressed from descriptive to scientific.
Most scientific knowledge, whether from experience or research, aims to understand and improve the effects of exercise on the body. Exercise is now the
focus of sport science. Research from several sciences enriches the theory and
methodology of training, which has become a science of its own (figure 1.1). The
athlete is the subject of the science of training. The athlete represents a vast
source of information for the coach and sport scientist.

During training, the athlete reacts to various stimuli, some of which may be
predicted more certainly than others. Physiological, biochemical, psychological,
social, and methodological information is collected from the training process. All this diverse information comes from the athlete and is produced by the
training process. The coach, who builds the training process, may not always be
in a position to evaluate it. However, we must evaluate all the feedback from
the training process to understand the athlete's reactivity to the quality of
training and properly plan future programs. In light of this, it becomes clear
that coaches require scientific assistance to ensure that they base their
programs on objective evaluations.

Theory and methodology of training is a vast area. Closely observing the
information available from each science will make coaches more proficient in
their training endeavors. The principles of training are the foundation of this
complex process. Knowing the training factors will clarify the role each factor
plays in training, according to the characteristics of a sport or event.
Chapters 11-13, which cover the methodology of developing biomotor abilities
(strength, speed, endurance, flexibility, and coordination), will help the coach
select the optimal training method. The planning section shows how to train
athletes to achieve maximum performance at the desired time. A training program
must include regeneration and recovery between training lessons to ensure
continuous improvement in the athlete's performance.

Scope of Training

Training is not a recent discovery. In ancient times, people systematically
trained for military and Olympic endeavors. Today athletes prepare themselves
for a goal through training. The physiological goal is to improve body function
and optimize athletic performance. The main scope of this training is to
increase athletes' work and skill capabilities and to develop strong
psychological traits. A coach leads, organizes, and plans training, and educates
the athlete. Many physiological, psychological, and sociological variables are
involved. Training is primarily a systematic athletic activity of long duration,
which is progressively and individually graded. Human physiological and
psychological functions are modeled to meet demanding tasks.
The aspiration toward high results in competitions should be closely linked with
physical excellence. Individuals should strive toward harmoniously combining
spiritual refinement, moral purity, and physical perfection. Physical perfection
signifies multilateral, harmonious development. The athlete acquires fine and
varied skills, cultivates high psychological qualities, and maintains extremely
good health. The athlete learns to cope with highly stressful stimuli in
training and competitions. Physical excellence should evolve through an
organized and well-planned training program based on a high volume of practical
experience.
Paramount to training endeavors for novices and professionals is an achievable
goal, planned according to individual abilities, psychological traits, and
social environment. Some athletes seek to win a competition or improve previous
performance; others consider gaining a technical skill or further developing a biomotor ability as a goal. Whatever the objective, each goal needs to be
as precise and measurable as possible. In any plan, short or long term, the
athlete needs to set goals and determine procedures for achieving them before
beginning training. The deadline for achieving the final goal is the date of a
major competition.

Objectives of Training

To improve skill and performance, athletes, led by the coach, must meet the
training objectives. The general objectives presented in this chapter will be
useful for comprehending the concepts in this book.

Multilateral Physical Development
Athletes need multilateral physical development as a training base as well as
overall physical fitness. The purpose is to increase endurance and strength,
develop speed, improve flexibility, and refine coordination, thus achieving a
harmoniously developed body. We expect athletes with a strong base and a good
overall development to improve athletic performance faster and better than those
without this foundation. In addition, such athletes will have a superior body
form, which increases their self-esteem and reflects a strong personality.

Sport-Specific Physical Development
Sport-specific development improves absolute and relative strength, muscle mass
and elasticity, specific strength (power or muscular endurance) according to
the sport's requirements, movement and reaction time, and coordination and
suppleness. This training creates the ability to perform all movements,
especially those required by the sport, with ease and smoothness.

Technical Factors
Technical training involves developing the capacity to perform all technical
actions correctly; perfecting the required technique based on a rational and
economical performance, with the highest possible velocity, high amplitude, and
a demonstration of force; performing specific techniques under normal and
unusual circumstances (e.g., weather); improving the technique of related
sports; and ensuring the ability to perform all movements correctly.

Tactical Factors
Tactical factors include improving strategy by studying the tactics of future
opponents, expanding the optimal tactics within athletes' capabilities, perfecting and varying strategies, and developing a strategy into a model considering
future opponents.

Team Capability
In some sports (team sports, relays, rowing, cycling, etc.), team preparation is
one of the coach's main objectives. The coach can accomplish this by
establishing harmony in the team's physical, technical, and strategic
preparation. The coach must establish such a concord for psychological
preparation, meaning sound relationships, friendships, and common goals among
teammates. Training competitions and social gatherings consolidate the team
and enhance the feeling of belonging. The coach must encourage the team to act
as a unit and should establish specific plans and roles for each athlete
according to the needs of the team.

Health Factors
Strengthening each athlete's health is important. Proper health is maintained by
periodic medical examinations, a proper correlation of training intensity with
individual effort capacity, and alternating hard work with an appropriate
regeneration phase. Following illness or injury, the athlete must begin training
only when completely recovered, ensuring adequate progression.

Injury Prevention
Prevent injuries by following all safety precautions; increasing flexibility beyond the level required; strengthening muscles, tendons, and ligaments, especially during the initiation phase of a beginner; and developing muscle strength
and elasticity to such a degree that when athletes perform unaccustomed
movements accidents will be unlikely.

Theoretical Knowledge
Training increases athletes' knowledge of the physiological and psychological
basis of training, planning, nutrition, and regeneration. Coaches should discuss athlete-coach, athlete-opponent, and teammate relationships to help athletes work together to reach the set goals.

This summarizes some general training objectives that a coach may consider in
developing a training program. Specific characteristics of most sports and of
individuals performing them may require the coach to be selective or to
establish additional training objectives. Pursue training objectives in a successive manner. The early program should develop the functional basis of training,
then move toward achieving sport-specific goals. For instance, Ozolin (1971)
suggests first developing general endurance followed by specific or anaerobic
endurance. Another example is the Romanian gymnasts who commence each annual
training program with a phase (approximately one month) of strength development
before starting technique work. The sequential approach is also extensively used
in long-term training programs.

Classification of Skills

Several attempts have been made to classify physical exercises. One criterion
was based on the idea that if a person looked good, then he or she was healthy
and strong. The founder of German gymnastics, Friederich Jahn, employed as a
criterion the equipment the athletes used (Eiselen 1845). Leshaft (1910) divided
all exercises into three groups. The first group included simple exercises
(calisthenics); the second group incorporated more complex exercises and exercises with progressive loading
(jumping, wrestling); and the third group was
complex exercises (games, skating, fencing).
Aside from classifying athletes into individual sports (track and field, gymnastics,
boxing) and team sports (basketball, volleyball, rugby), a widely accepted classification uses biomotor abilities as a criterion. Biomotor abilities
include strength, speed, endurance, and coordination (Grantin 1940). This
classification is highly practical for coaches (Farfel 1960). Sport skills can
be
classified into three groups of exercises: cyclic, acyclic, and acyclic
combined.

Cyclic skills are used in sports such as walking, running,
cross-country skiing, speed skating, swimming, rowing, cycling, kayaking, and
canoeing. The main characteristic of these sports is that the motor act involves
repetitive movements. Once athletes learn one cycle of the motor act, they can
duplicate it continually for long periods. Each cycle consists of distinct,
identical phases that are repeated in the same succession. For example, the four
phases of a rowing stroke, the catch, drive through the water, finish, and
recovery, are part of a whole. The athlete performs them in the same succession
during the cyclic motion of rowing. All cycles the athlete performs are linked;
the present one is preceded and will be followed by another one.
Acyclic skills show up in sports such as shot putting, discus throw, most
gymnastics, team sports, wrestling, boxing, and fencing. These skills consist of
integral functions performed in one action. For instance, the skill of discus
throwing incorporates the preliminary swing, transition, turn, delivery, and
reverse step, but the athlete performs them all in one action.
Acyclic combined skills consist of a cyclic movement followed by an acyclic
movement. Sports such as all jumping events in track and field, figure skating,
tumbling lines and vaulting in gymnastics, and diving use acyclic combined
skills. Although all actions are linked, we can easily distinguish between the
acyclic and cyclic movements. For instance, we can distinguish the acyclic
movement of a high jumper or vaulter from the preceding cyclic approach of
running.

The coach's comprehension of these skill classifications plays an
important role in the selection of the appropriate teaching method. The whole
(entire skill) method of teaching seems to be the most efficient for cyclic
sports, because it is difficult to break down the respective skills of
running, speed skating' or cross-country skiing. For acyclic skills, breaking
down a skill and teaching the components separately (the parts method) results
in quicker retention. For example, you can divide the hitch kick technique in
the long jump into components (steps) until the athletes accomplish each part
properly; then they can learn it as a whole.

Classification of Sports

Voluntary motor acts result from a complex ensemble of muscle contractions
performed under dynamic or static conditions, and involve force, speed, endurance,
coordination, and amplitude. Categorizing sports is based on training
objectives and on physiological and skill similarities necessary to attain and
ensure an adequate performance. With this in mind, Gandelsman and Smirnov (1970)
divided all sports into seven groups:

Perfect the coordination and form of a skill.

Attain a superior speed in cyclic sports.

Perfect the strength and speed of a skill.

Perfect the skill performed in a contest with opponents.

Perfect the conduct of different means of travel.

Perfect the activity of the central nervous system (CNS) under stress and low
physical involvement.

Develop the ability to perform in various events in combined sports.

The first group includes gymnastics, modern rhythmic gymnastics, figure skating,
and diving. Performance often depends on the perfection of coordination,
technical complexity of a skill, and artistic presentation, because points are
based on subjective judgment. Most skills are acyclic, although some are cyclic
(the approach in tumbling and vaulting in gymnastics, jumps in figure skating).
The acyclic structures of most skills are diverse, defining a variety of types
and intensities of training work, which leads to many adjustments in body
functions.
The second group includes sports such as running, walking, speed skating,
rowing, cycling, canoeing, cross-country skiing, and swimming, in which superior velocity is the main objective. Another attribute is the cyclic manner in
which the athletes perform the skill. The speed they develop for the competition distance of
these
sports depends on their perfection of the cyclic movements and their ability to overcome fatigue. Fatigue becomes more difficult for
long-distance athletes, mainly because of the stress on the cardiorespiratory
system.
Sports in the third classification relate to developing maximum force to improve performance. Athletes can develop force either through increasing the mass
they use during an exercise and maintaining the rate of constant acceleration
(weightlifting) or increasing the acceleration rate while maintaining constant
mass (throwing and jumping events). The first case refers to developing
strength and the second to developing power.
The fourth group includes all team sports and individual sports performed
against opponents (boxing, wrestling, judo, fencing). Excellent sensory organ
functioning and the capacity to perceive and act quickly under continually
changing contest circumstances are required qualities. Decisions made in a
complex game situation depend on the athlete's capacity to perceive external
stimuli. The quickness and precision of interpretation can prevent opponents
from performing a successful tactical maneuver or lead to a team's success.
The fifth group of sports incorporates activities such as horseback riding,
sailing, motor sports, and waterskiing. This group is not researched as much,
although some skills are beneficial for daily life. In some sports (sailing,
motorcycling, etc.), the equipment quality influences the outcome of the competition;
however, athletes must perfect the skills of handling the equipment. The
development of these complex skills requires many hours of training. Processing information received by the central nervous system (CNS)
through proprioceptors must be extremely fast, because athletes have to make
quick decisions during a race. Good physical preparation with specific strength
development according to the needs of the sport is important to athletes'
success. Aside from strength and reaction time, balance and endurance are among
the dominant biomotor abilities athletes need when competing in this group of
sports.

Although the activities in the sixth group (shooting, archery, chess)
are well recognized sports, they are not physical exercises because the motor
component is low. As Gandelsman and Smirnov (1970) have suggested, however,
these sports reflect the main tendency of modern training, the CNS's increased
role of guiding the activity. During training and competition, the CNS is under
a great deal of stress. Though a competitor does not experience high physical
involvement, chess players and shooters participate in well-planned physical
exertion. Both sports require excellent endurance, allowing the competitors to
focus their concentration, patience, and psychological self-control during a
prolonged competition. Upper-body strength is beneficial for shooting so the
athlete can hold the weapon still, without deviating from the target.
Finally, combined sports incorporate many events (e.g., decathlon) or different
sports such as the modern pentathlon (horseback riding, fencing, swimming,
and cross-country running). Women's heptathlon, triathlon, and biathlon are
also in this group. Physiological and psychological interpretations must bemade according to the specifics of each event in the combined sport, because
most include activities from various sports and zones of intensities. The variety
of events or sports that dictate the type of training to use is complex, resulting in all-around athletes.
The classification of sports Gandelsman and Smirnov (1970) proposed is
schematic. It is, however, beneficial for the coach to have a good understanding of the attributes of all sports activities, because a sport included in one
group may have some features characteristic of another group. Understanding the
features and related characteristics of a sport may improve the coach's training
endeavors, making possible a more effective outcome and a more varied training
program. Table 1.1 summarizes sport classifications.

System of Training

A system is an organized or methodically arranged set of ideas, theories, or
speculations. A system should encompass accumulated experience as well aspure and applied research findings in an organized whole. A system should not be
imported, although it may be beneficial to first study other systems when
developing one. Furthermore, in creating or developing a better system, you must
consider a country's social and cultural background.
A sport system should include the physical education and sport organization of a
nation, considering school programs, recreation and sport clubs, the organizational structure of sport governing bodies, and the systems of athletic
training.

The organization of a nation's system should first define its goals,
and, based on that, structure itself so that all echelons and units are linked
in a solid and sequential setup (figure 1.2). The suggested system has a pyramid
structure: at the base are the youngsters in physical education; the peak
encompasses the high-performance unit, the nation's athletic ambassadors

A national sport system should consider the nation's values, traditions,
climate, and sports emphasis, especially for young participants. Young people
must develop the basic skills and abilities to benefit from physical instruction, as well as to perform appropriately in most sports. The latter refers to
track and field, swimming, and gymnastics. The emphasis on track and field is to
develop the basic skill required in most sports (running, jumping, and
throwing). Swimming encourages appropriate development of the cardiorespiratO1:Y function and lifeguard abilities. Gymnastics improves balance and
coordination. These three sports are part of children's general instruction in
most European countries, especially Russia, Germany, and Romania.
Creating a training system for a sport may stem from the general knowledge
in the theory and methodology of training, scientific findings, the experience
of the nation's best coaches, and the approach used in other countries. The
highlight of developing a training system should be creating a model for both
short- and long-term training. All coaches should then apply the model. This
approach does not exclude the possibility of individual expression. Each
individual has a place within the system, and a coach may attempt to enrich the
system through his or her talents. Furthermore, by using their abilities and
skills, coaches should apply the system according to the club's specifics, the
social and natural environments, and athletes' individual characteristics. Sport
specialists and scientists occupy an important place in creating and evolving a
training system. Their research, especially applied research, could enrich
training know-how; improve methods of athlete evaluation, selection, peaking,
and recovery and regeneration following training; and increase knowledge of
how to cope with stress.
The quality of a training system depends on direct and supportive factors
(figure 1.3). Although each link in the system has a role, the utmost importance lies with the direct factors, training and evaluation of training.

The direct result of a quality training system should be a high level of performance. Training quality does not depend on one factor, the coach. Instead, it
depends on many factors, some not commanded by the coach, which could affect the
athlete's performance (figure 1.4). Hence, all factors that affect the quality
of training should be effectively used and constantly improved.

Training Adaptation

A high level of performance is the result of many years of well-planned,
methodical, and hard training. During this time, the athlete tries to adapt his
or her organs and functions to the specific requirements of the chosen sport.
The adaptation level is reflected by performance capabilities. The greater the
degree of adaptation, the better the performance.
Training adaptation is the sum of transformations brought about by
systematically repeating exercise. These structural and physiological changes
result from a specific demand that athletes place on their bodies by the
activity they pursue, depending on the volume, intensity, and frequency of
training. Physical training is beneficial only as long as it forces the body to
adapt to the stress of the effort. If the stress is not a sufficient challenge,
then no adaptation occurs. On the other hand, if a stress is intolerable, then
injury or overtraining may result.
The time required for a high degree of adaptation depends on the skill
complexity and the physiological and psychological difficulty of the event or
sport. The more complex and difficult the sport, the longer the training time
required for neuromuscular and functional adaptation.
A systematic and organized training program induces several alterations.
Although researchers observed the most organic and functional changes in
endurance athletes (Astrand and Rodahl 1970; Mathews and Fox 1976), most
athletes experience neuromuscular, cardiorespiratory, and biochemical
modifications. Psychological improvements also result from physical exercise.
Research in anatomical adaptation has shown that material (bone composition)
strength decreases with high-intensity exercise. Also, mechanical properties of
bones do not strictly depend on chronological age but on the mechanical demands
of the athlete. Low-intensity training at an early age may, therefore, stimulate
long bone length and circumference increases. High intensity, on the other hand,
may inhibit bone growth (Matsuda et al.1986).
Researchers also believe that bone adaptation to exercise is a function of age.
Immature bones are more sensitive to cycle load changes than mature bones.
Strength training at a young age accelerates the maturation process, causing
permanent suppression of bone growth (Matsuda et al.1986). The purpose of
training, therefore, is to stress the body so that it responds in adaptation and
not aggravation.
Athletes performing strength and power training at near or maximal voluntary
contraction increase the cross-sectional area of muscle fibers (hypertrophy).
The growth of a muscle and its weight are due largely to hypertrophy,
occasionally muscle fiber splitting (hyperplasia), and the increase of protein
content.
Researchers often link high performance in power or speed events with genetics and the dominant muscle fiber type. Simoneau et al. (1985) suggests,
however, that fiber type composition is not determined solely by genetics.
Researchers have observed conflicting results within transfer from fast-twitch
to slow-twitch muscle fiber type. Some results verify that when the stimulus is
appropriate, the potential to convert one fiber type to another does exist.
Therefore, adaptation to fiber type areas could depend on the nature and
duration of the training program as well as the pre-training status of the
athlete. Thus, it is not solely a genetic factor.
We do not fully understand enhancements of explosive power performance and the
corresponding biological adaptation of a specific training stimulus. Gravity
normally provides most of the mechanical stimulus responsible for developing
muscle structure during everyday life and training. It is reasonable to assume,
therefore, that high-gravity conditions could influence the muscle mechanics of
even well-trained athletes. Researchers report improvements as a result of fast
adaptation to the simulated high-gravity field. They suggest that adaptation has
occurred both in neuromuscular functions and in metabolic processes (Bosco et
al. 1984).
Performance improvements are also due to changes in the neuromuscular system.
During sustained maximal or submaximal activities, the average firing rate of a
motor unit increases over time. This neuromuscular strategy can increase the
length of time the athlete holds the contraction. During submaximal prolonged
activity, as contractile failure develops in active motor units, new units
maintain force output. During sustained, maximal voluntary contraction, however,
units with the highest initial frequencies showed the most rapid rate of
decrease.
High-speed and short-duration activity are responsible for small adaptive
changes in enzymes (protein products that induce chemical reactions) and
increases in creatine phosphate (CP). The more intensive an activity, the higher
its enzyme action, as with oxidative glycolytic metabolism. The greater the
hypertrophy, the higher the oxidative enzyme activities. Aerobic exercise is
ineffective in changing the glycolytic processes; therefore, the longer an
athlete participates in training, the more hypertrophied are his or her
slow-twitch muscle fibers (Sale 1989).
Endurance training at a prolonged and moderate intensity improves aerobic
capacity, mainly through levels of myoglobin (an oxygen binding pigment that
stores and diffuses oxygen), mitochondrial enzymes (both in size and number),
glycogen stores, and a greater oxidative capacity. Prominent adaptations to
prolonged activity are enhanced respiratory capacity and respiratory rates,
increased oxygen transport, augmented cardiac output, and structural changes in
the volume density of muscle mitochondria. Thus, the increase in maximum oxygen
consumption demonstrates enhanced aerobic capacity for prolonged exercises and
increases enzyme activity in working muscles. A major benefit of increased
enzyme levels is the oxidation of fatty acids, which improves the organism's
ability to use fat as an energy source. Researchers believe that increases in
muscle mitochondria and myoglobin account for approximately 50% of the increase
in maximal oxygen consumption. The other 50% is probably accounted for by better
oxygen transport through the cardiovascular system (de Vries 1980). The dominant
aerobic training also increases the anaerobic capacity by a considerable margin
(Gollnick et al. 1973b).